The question (10 marks)
A State provides 60 per cent reservation in its services for backward classes identified by caste alone without excluding their advanced members, and by executive order extends reservation to promotions for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes without collecting any data on their representation. Examine the validity of each measure in the light of Articles 14 and 16 and the decisions in Indra Sawhney, M. Nagaraj and Jarnail Singh.
MU-pattern problem on reservation; built on the Unit 2 equality chapter and the Indra Sawhney and Nagaraj readings, gated on the DU LB-401 extracts and the KLE compilation.
Plan your answer on paper before you look at the authorities — issue first, then the rule, then apply it to these facts.
It tests Unit 2 · Fundamental Rights I: State, Judicial Review, Equality, Freedoms, Life and Liberty of Constitutional Law – I.
Authorities you will need
- Articles 14, 16(1), 16(4), 16(4A), 16(4B) and 335
- Indra Sawhney v Union of India (1992)
- M. Nagaraj v Union of India (2006)
- Jarnail Singh v Lachhmi Narain Gupta (2018)
- M.R. Balaji v State of Mysore
How an answer is marked
A full-marks answer names the issue in one line, states the rule with its section, cites the authority, applies it to these facts and concludes — in that order. The app's model answer for this question is written in exactly that shape, with a checklist to mark your own attempt against.